Mizen Head Footbridge in County Cork, Ireland, is a reinforced concrete through-arch structure spanning 50 m. The original structure was completed in 1909. After 100 years of service the bridge was demolished and reconstructed in 2009/10. This paper describes the design and construction challenges of safely demolishing and reconstructing the bridge in a difficult site location. The bridge provided access to a lighthouse on a tiny island, Cloghán, at the tip of Mizen Head in southwest Cork. The original structure was commissioned by the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL). The structural form was chosen from a design competition held in the early 1900s. The entries to this competition are held in the CIL archives and are on display in the Visitors' Centre at Mizen Head.
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September 2013
Research Article|
April 08 2013
The design and construction of the new Mizen Head Footbridge, Ireland
Kieran Ruane, BE, MSc(Eng), CEng, MIStructE, MIEI, MICE;
Kieran Ruane, BE, MSc(Eng), CEng, MIStructE, MIEI, MICE
1
Technical Director, RPS Consulting Engineers Ltd, Cork, Ireland
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Murt Coleman, BE, CEng, FIEI;
Murt Coleman, BE, CEng, FIEI
2
Managing Director, Carillion Irishenco Ltd, Kildare, Ireland
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Enda Collery, BA, BAI, CEng, MIEI;
Enda Collery, BA, BAI, CEng, MIEI
3
Contracts Manager, Carillion Irishenco Ltd, Kildare, Ireland
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Eoghan Lehane, Eur Ing, BE, CEng, MIEI, MCIWEM;
Eoghan Lehane, Eur Ing, BE, CEng, MIEI, MCIWEM
4
Civil Engineering and Property Manager, Commissioners of Irish Lights, Dublin, Ireland
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Brendan Minihane, Eur Ing, BE, CEng, MIEI;
Brendan Minihane, Eur Ing, BE, CEng, MIEI
5
Project Resident Engineer, Cork County Council, Cork, Ireland
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Ross O'Donovan, Dip Eng, BEng, CEng, MIEI;
Ross O'Donovan, Dip Eng, BEng, CEng, MIEI
6
Senior Resident Engineer, RPS Consulting Engineers Ltd, Cork, Ireland
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Noel O'Keeffe, Eur Ing, BE, CEng, FIEI, MICE;
Noel O'Keeffe, Eur Ing, BE, CEng, FIEI, MICE
7
County Engineer, Cork County Council, Cork, Ireland
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Kevin Power, BE, CEng, FIEI, MICE, MCIWEM
Kevin Power, BE, CEng, FIEI, MICE, MCIWEM
8
Director, RPS Consulting Engineers Ltd, Cork, Ireland
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Publisher: Emerald Publishing
Received:
March 25 2011
Accepted:
December 08 2011
Online ISSN: 1751-7664
Print ISSN: 1478-4637
ICE Publishing: All rights reserved
2013
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Bridge Engineering (2013) 166 (3): 217–228.
Article history
Received:
March 25 2011
Accepted:
December 08 2011
Citation
Ruane K, Coleman M, Collery E, Lehane E, Minihane B, O'Donovan R, O'Keeffe N, Power K (2013), "The design and construction of the new Mizen Head Footbridge, Ireland". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Bridge Engineering, Vol. 166 No. 3 pp. 217–228, doi: https://doi.org/10.1680/bren.11.00018
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